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West Indies 375 (Bonner 123, Brathwaite 55) and 147 for 4 (Bonner 38*, Holder 37*) drew with England 311 (Bairstow 140, Seales 4-79) and 349 for 6 dec (Crawley 121, Root 109) Nkrumah Bonner and Jason Holder drew the sting of England’s depleted attack in a tense final session of the first Test in Antigua, as their 80-run partnership, spanning 34.4 resolute overs, thwarted a well-judged declaration from Joe Root that briefly looked set to deliver an unlikely victory in a previously bat-dominated contest.After Root himself had become England’s third centurion of the match – a feat they last achieved on the tour of India in 2016-17 – West Indies were left needing a stiff but tantalising target of 286 in a minimum of 71 overs, against an attack lacking the services of Mark Wood, the man whose habitual 90mph pace might have been expected to unlock an unforgiving surface.Instead, England’s fight was carried by the disciplined, probing spin of Jack Leach, who bowled with great accuracy, and with five men camped around the bat for the majority of the final session, but with little luck to finish with 3 for 57 in 30.1 overs. Ben Stokes was England’s other main threat as he once again belied the pre-match caveats about his fitness to bang out 13 more overs for 24, but having prised out the key early wicket of Kraigg Brathwaite, he too was unable to get the better of a dogged fifth-wicket pair.After 21 wickets had fallen on the first four days of the match, the likelihood of England forcing victory on an unforgiving surface at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium had always been slim. And slim seemed to have left town when it was confirmed that Wood – who had been withdrawn from the attack before lunch on day three – would play no further part in the match, after reporting “acute pain” in his injured right elbow during a nets session before the start of play.With Wood’s participation in the rest of the series now in serious doubt, it would have been understandable had England chosen to shut up shop from the outset, after resuming their second innings with a stalemate at their mercy on 217 for 1. However, in adding a further 132 runs in 25 overs of an extended morning session, the evidence from the day’s outset was that England always intended to have a dart at West Indies’ brittle batting in the final two sessions.By the time Bonner had batted for 493 balls across his two innings, and found typically indomitable support from Holder – a man who never needs to be asked twice to produce his best performances against England – West Indies had located a backbone to reinforce their remarkable home record in the Wisden-turned-Richards-Botham-Trophy.Either side of the tea break, however, it had threatened to be a very different story. After a misleadingly calm start to their chase, in which Brathwaite and John Campbell had compiled their second fifty stand of the match, West Indies shipped four wickets for eight runs in 9.3 overs to reawaken the sort of jitters that their opponents have known only too well in recent times.Suddenly, from 59 for 0, with the vague prospect of hunting down a run-a-ball asking rate in an ODI-style fight to the finish, West Indies were in the soup at 67 for 4, with their only remaining objective being survival – a state of affairs that allowed England to shelve any reticence in their field placings, and throw everything they had into the pursuit of those final six wickets.The dismissal of Brathwaite was the trigger for West Indies’ wobble for he had been, by a distance, the more fluent of West Indies’ two openers. Aside from one atrocious hack across the line at Leach, for which he had deserved to be bowled for 24, Brathwaite found a comfortable balance between stickability and intent to set West Indies’ tempo with a solid knock of 33 from 82 balls.Inevitably, however, it was Stokes who dislodged him. After his first-innings exertions, Stokes had been held back until the 24th over – ostensibly waiting until the ball was ready to reverse-swing – and with his seventh delivery, he skidded a full-length nipbacker into Brathwaite’s shin, to send him on his way for 33 from 82 balls.Suddenly, West Indies’ serenity had been shaken, and Campbell never looked like filling the void. Leach in particular had him in his pocket – he should have been caught for 1 from 19 balls, when he skied a leading edge to Crawley, running back from slip, and the solitary boundary of his innings, an attractive drive through the covers off Leach, came one ball after he had skimmed a less convincing hack over the head of Stokes at mid-off.But on 22, Campbell’s luck ran out. Needing to up his own tempo now that the captain was gone, he gave Leach the charge but scudded a flat drive towards Craig Overton at mid-off, who swallowed the chance comfortably above his head to leave West Indies in a bit of strife on 59 for 2.With tea looming, Leach and Stokes turned the screw. The new men, Shamarh Brooks and Bonner were limited to two runs in the space of six overs before, in the final over before the break, Brooks swept Leach for a pressure-relieving four, then fenced at his very next ball, for Crawley to make amends with a sharp low take at slip.Jack Leach made two breakthroughs before tea•Getty Images

At 65 for 3, that wicket was perfectly timed to scramble the mind of the incoming Jermaine Blackwood – a man who, moments earlier, might have priming himself to be the hero, Ageas Bowl 2020-style, in an improbable run-chase. Now his only real role was to loiter, and that notion seemed to fry his synapses in the interval. Three balls after the resumption, he flung his bat through a revolting hack to nothing, and was pinned lbw for 2 to set the cat fully among the pigeons.Holder and Bonner, however, could not be dislodged. The former used his extraordinarily long levers to stretch down the pitch at every opportunity, smothering Leach’s threat with an ever-broad bat; the latter hung back on the crease, playing off the pitch and trusting his eye to get out of intermittent trouble.Aside from Leach and Stokes, however, there wasn’t enough threat from the rest of England’s attack. Even with Ben Foakes standing up to the stumps, there was nothing about Chris Woakes’ diligent methods that looked like forcing a wicket, and perhaps the best of the rest were the speculative offbreaks of the squirrel-in-a-blender, Dan Lawrence, who came inches from cleaning up Bonner, on 9, with the biggest turner of the match.England did eventually think they’d broken the stand … but only for a split-second, for Bonner, on 25 at the time, was already grinning as he signalled for a review because he knew he’d feathered an inside-edge from Craig Overton into his pads.The biggest what-if for England, however, came when Holder, on 13, and with a dicey 22 overs still in the bank, was pinned on the back leg, offering no stroke to a faster, flatter ball from Leach. England, with one review up their sleeve, and perhaps mindful of what had happened at Headingley in 2019 when Australia got too eager to play their get-out-of-jail card, decided discretion was the better part of valour. Replays showed that the ball was smashing leg, and Holder wouldn’t offer a better opportunity for 59 remaining balls.Despite being thwarted at the death, there were plenty of positives for England to take away from the first five days of their so-called red-ball reset. With centuries already in the bag for Jonny Bairstow and Crawley, the captain Root made it three for the match in the morning session – his 24th in Test cricket and 13th as captain, overtaking Alastair Cook’s previous record. After a stellar year in 2021, it was Root’s first of the new calendar year, and his first in his new berth at No. 3 as well.But in strolling off the pitch with an indomitable stand to their names, and with West Indies’ unbeaten run in Tests against England in Antigua extended into an 42nd year, Bonner and Holder did more than enough to remind their opponents that they are in a tussle once again in this series, with their next challenge looming large in Barbados next week.

When and if Josh Bohannon earns an England Test call-up, he will be more prepared than most for the media demands that invariably follow.Bohannon’s name was mentioned prominently in the press before the squad to play West Indies in the Caribbean was announced in early February. On the day the touring party was due to be released, Bohannon’s phone rang after a reporter had received a tip-off that he would be included.”There was obviously a lot of chat, especially on the Monday before it got announced on the Tuesday,” Bohannon explained. “Funnily enough, I did an interview for Sky on the Tuesday. They thought I’d been picked, which I didn’t know about – and then obviously the news broke that I wasn’t in it.”It was interesting. He rang me saying, ‘congrats’ and I said, ‘what are you congratulating me for?’ He said, ‘I’ve heard you’ve been picked’ and I said, ‘well, you know more than I do’ and then obviously I hadn’t been picked.”He asked me to answer them as if I’d been picked and I said, ‘how are you supposed to do that?’ It was a real awkward conversation. It was just an interesting chat really. I didn’t know what to say. It was obviously gutting, but it was nice to be spoken about, I guess.”While Bohannon’s call-up did not materialise, the fact that his name came up as much as it did underlines the extent to which his reputation has grown in the last two years, and reinforces the notion that a strong start to the season for Lancashire will put him in the conversation for the first home Test of the English summer, against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2.Bohannon scored 853 runs at 53.31 last season, the most of any batter who played in Division One (and the 11th-most overall) and his career average of 43.42 in first-class cricket compares favourably with most young batters in the country. Having recently turned 25, there is still plenty of room for improvement, too.His form for Lancashire last season earned him a call-up to the England Lions tour to Australia and though the trip was interrupted by inclement weather, his second-innings 51 against Australia A was another demonstration of his ability to the England hierarchy – even if there has been significant turnover in personnel since then.Josh Bohannon climbs into a cut shot•Getty Images

“It was obviously very nice to get away and not just spend [the winter] in the indoor school,” Bohannon said, speaking at Lancashire’s press day at Emirates Old Trafford last week. “It’s obviously nice to score some runs. I’d have liked some more as always, but it was nice to come away and have a sense of belonging in that environment.”I just hope I can keep performing. If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t. I can only try my best and try and keep knocking on that door. The one thing that is blatantly obvious is that when people do get in, they do get given a chance. Hopefully, if I do get some more runs again this year, or whenever it is that I get a chance, hopefully I can stay in for a while and prove that I’m good enough to bat in that top order for England.”Cricket is hard enough as it is playing for Lancs without putting all that pressure on my shoulders. People have gone wrong in the past, almost thinking too far ahead – ‘if I do this, I’ll get a go’. So I’ve done a lot of work with the psychologist just to make sure that every day I’m in the right space and I think the more that I enjoy cricket, the better chance I’ve got of scoring runs.”Working with psychologists has helped Bohannon gain perspective. “I’m quite a fiery bloke so it’s just about being able to channel that anger when it’s needed on the field and pick a battle in the game, as opposed to just always being angry,” he said.Related

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“Off the field I’m very calm. But a lot of stuff on the field gets in my head… it’s about being able to channel that. Last year was certainly the best state of mind I’ve been in in cricket, really enjoying it, and obviously I had some success so hopefully [it’s the] same again this year.”Bohannon started the season at No. 3 for Lancashire, making 19 in their 10-wicket win against Kent at Canterbury, having batted at No. 4 for the majority of last season. He may yet shuffle back down the order once Keaton Jennings is fit again, but said he was comfortable batting in either position.He hopes that his “simple” technique will serve him well if he makes the step up to international cricket, and feels as though he is prepared for the heightened scrutiny that he will face this year as one of the key batters in Lancashire’s line-up.”Who knows until you play? I’ve no idea,” he said. “But having spoken to a lot of coaches and stuff, there’s not a great deal of moving parts [in my technique]. It’s quite simple, which hopefully will stand me in good stead if I do get a chance.”I’ve played enough now that people are aware where you score and that sort of thing. It’s the same as any season. It doesn’t take people long anyway to work out where you score.”

Tumult in the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) appears to have quelled, but there remains uncertainty over women’s cricket as findings into a “complex” situation are set to be shared at the ICC board meeting on April 10.The swift return of the Taliban last year cast a pall over the fledgling women’s game in Afghanistan, exacerbated after public comments by ministers that women and girls would not be allowed to play sport.It led to calls for Afghanistan to be culled from the 2021 T20 World Cup and sparked debate over whether their Full Membership should be stripped. Cricket Australia postponed last November’s historic men’s Test with Afghanistan.But Afghanistan have continued playing international cricket and the ICC has preferred to wait until a working group tasked with investigating the situation provided its findings. Chaired by board veteran Imran Khwaja, the working group – which also includes Ross McCollum (Ireland chair), Ramiz Raja (Pakistan chair) and Lawson Naidoo (SA chair) – has liaised several times since its formation in November, interviewing past and present officials and closely monitoring developments at ACB.Related

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According to sources, in what is set to be its only recommendation to the ICC board, the working group has found 33-year-old Afghanistan allrounder Mirwais Ashraf’s appointment as chairman to be in compliance with the ACB and ICC constitutions. If accepted by the board then Ashraf will become an ICC board director.There was upheaval at the ACB in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover, with warring factions within the board trying to seize power for themselves. It culminated with Ashraf replacing Azizullah Fazli, who was in charge for just two months.”There needs to be stability within ACB,” a former ACB official who was interviewed by the working group, told ESPNcricinfo. “The chairman is meant to be in the role for three years. There needs to be clear directions (by the ICC) to the government that the constitution and procedures need to be met.”I told them (working group) that Afghanistan cricket shouldn’t be sabotaged because of the Taliban’s takeover of the country.”While there has been governance concerns and continual uncertainty over women’s cricket, revoking Afghanistan’s Full Membership was never really an option given their men’s team serves as a powerful symbol of hope and inspiration.”How can we punish the ACB for something they didn’t do?,” said an official with knowledge of the situation. “That’s out of the question. It’s not fair to pull the carpet out considering the progress they have made in developing Afghanistan cricket. If we start doing that then we have to banish half the (ICC) members.”Development and pathway structures for women’s cricket are part of strict criteria for Full Membership. When Afghanistan received it in 2017, an exemption was invoked on the proviso that they take active measures to develop women’s cricket. Before the Taliban takeover, the ACB had announced central contracts for a pool of women cricketers though they were still some way off fielding a team.After the Taliban’s takeover there were reports of female cricketers fleeing Afghanistan amid concern the regime would reinstate a ban on women and girls playing sport.”There is no way to know if women’s cricket is developing there right now,” an official familiar with the situation said. “The ACB is saying that women are still allowed to play. Indication is that the ACB is trying. Every country has an obligation to develop women’s cricket.””Women’s cricket was moving in the right direction prior to the situation changing,” McCollum told ESPNcricinfo. “The priority is to make sure their players are still available and can play. It’s a difficult situation. Afghanistan is complex.”In case complex becomes something a little more problematic, the working group contemplated the idea of controlled funding, where the ICC would make payments on behalf of the ACB (using Afghanistan’s share of the ICC’s money). It is a practice currently implemented due to the ACB having banking and foreign exchange issues since the Taliban seized power.”There is no impropriety at the moment and no reason to believe there would be danger of funds being sequestered,” an official said, with controlled funding not set to be part of the recommendations.The working group will convene a final time in Dubai to formalise its position before presenting to the ICC.

Rajasthan Royals are happy to have four No. 11s in their line-up. And this is why. Each of them – led by Trent Boult – produced a match-winning contribution and this one will taste ever so sweet because it takes them close to a place in the IPL playoffs. They knocked the stuffing out of Lucknow Super Giants, who in all likelihood will be one of the teams they will meet in those knockout matches later this month. So this win – defending 178 – isn’t just that, it’s something to carry forward.The Royals promise
A young batter with a power game is one of the most exciting things in cricket. Yashasvi Jaiswal (41 off 29) certainly lived up to that billing tonight.At one point, he was beaten by Avesh Khan, the ball storming past his outside edge like it was offended he had even tried to hit it. In the next over, as if deciding enough was enough, Jaiswal made the darn thing disappear.That six into the crowd behind square leg in a Dushmantha Chameera over that cost 21 runs, combined with Sanju Samson’s takedown of Ravi Bishnoi in the eighth over, threatened something special.Trent Boult bagged two new-ball wickets after biffing an unbeaten 17 off 9•BCCI

It’s good to have options
This game was all about punch and counterpunch.The first part of that equation is a given. Batting teams in T20 cricket seldom hold back. But for a bowling team to respond, it takes either a lot of effort, or a lot of options.Super Giants had a LOT of options.Five balls after Samson pwned Bishnoi, he fell to Jason Holder.So in came Devdutt Padikkal, who hit five of the first 10 balls he faced to the boundary.One ball after that run-spree, Ayush Badoni dismissed Jaiswal.KL Rahul used eight bowlers, all of whom combined so well that by the start of the 17th over, the opposition’s finisher James Neesham was batting with just R Ashwin for company and those four No. 11s to come.A mix-up, and a botched attempt by the less recognised batter to sacrifice his wicket, left Ashwin and Boult at the crease with 14 balls still remaining, but they managed to biff 26 off those 14 balls. Who needs batting depth?Lightning Boult
A Brabourne pitch that offered movement + Boult = Magic.The Royals new-ball phenom took two wickets in the third over – Quinton de Kock caught off a long hop and Badoni lbw with mesmerising inswing.Prasidh Krishna took out Rahul from the other end – cramping the batter for room as he tried to play the cut – and that virtually was the game.Super Giants have relied heavily on their captain this season. More than 30% of their runs (421) in winning causes have come off his blade. But here, he was gone with 14.3 overs still to play.Deepak Hooda struck a 33-ball fifty•BCCI

Chahal vs Hooda
Super Giants were on the mat. They were 34 for 3 at the end of the powerplay. They hit just five boundaries in the eight overs that followed. Royals were squeezing the life out of them thanks to Ashwin (4-0-24-1) and Obed McCoy (2-0-16-0)Deepak Hooda (59 off 39) tried to break free of this strangle and he chose to do so against the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2022. Yuzvendra Chahal was hit for a six and a four to start the 11th over. But this is not a bowler who backs down. He didn’t against Glenn Maxwell. He didn’t against Kieron Pollard. He didn’t against MS Dhoni. And he didn’t against Hooda either.The game itself was long since over, but this head-to-head was still simmering.Hooda has been one of the IPL’s perennial itinerants, never establishing his place in any of the teams he’s played for.A player with so many gifts, foremost among them his long reach and plenty of power, should be dominating this tournament. But on occasion his decision-making has let him down.At Super Giants, it seems he’s been given the confidence to play the way he likes. He’s been given responsibility too, batting at No. 3. When you’ve spent a long time on the fringes, and suddenly someone comes along and gives you that kind of trust, you will never want to let them down.Hooda did what he could but in the end, it was just too much. He charged at Chahal once again in the 16th over, but this time the legspinner angled the ball into his pads, denying him the room to free those hands, and had him stumped off an inside edge. Everyone just went through the motions after that.

Sussex 245 for 7 (Carter 113*, Clark 55) vs GlamorganA maiden first-class hundred from Oli Carter was the highlight on day one of the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Glamorgan and Sussex in Cardiff as Sussex reached 245 for 7 at the close.Carter came to the crease with his team in trouble at 29 for two and finished the day on 113 not out. The next highest score was the 55 made by Tom Clark as regular wickets pegged back Sussex’s first innings.Andrew Salter bowled 33 overs in the day, conceding just 65 runs, as the Glamorgan seamers rotated from the other end. Carter and Harry Crocombe were batting together at the close of play with Sussex still closing in on a second batting point.Having put Sussex into to bat Glamorgan looked very dangerous with the new ball as Michael Neser and James Weighell picked up the wickets of Tom Alsop and Tom Haines early on. It could have been an even better start for Glamorgan with both openers getting a let off early on with chances going down in the slips.An excellent stand of exactly 100 between Clark and Carter took Sussex past the lunch break without any further damage with both looking in solid form. When the wicket of Clark arrived, it was from a loose shot as he tried to go over the top off the bowling of Salter only for the ball to loop up to Colin Ingram at mid-on.